1a.Objectives (from AD-416):
The objective of this cooperative research project is to develop technologies for landscape scale, integrative assessment and monitoring of ecologically important rangeland practices, and provide land owners access to data and data based tools for assessug their conservation practices.

1b.Approach (from AD-416):
Collaborative experiments will be designed and implemented at jointly identified sites in the southwestern United States within the Malpai Borderlands Region. Experiments will be patterned after existing experiments to.1)apply methods for describing ecological sites in a globally consistent manner that can be applied specifically to the Malpai Borderlands region and properties that ar linked to those ecological site;.2)assess historical land management practices, especially prescribed burning, and.3)provide data access and data products that can be used by land managers for resource conservation and management.

3.Progress Report:

In 2012, Jornada staff mapped 3 ranches according to ecological site and existing vegetation states within the Malpai Region. These maps will be used to ecologically evaluate effectiveness of conservation practices applied to these ranches in recent years. Subsequent analyses will be conducted in 2013. Additional ranches in the region will also be mapped by sites and states. This project is serving as a basis for a scientific approach to conservation effects assessment program and as a template for rangeland management based on results from testing of scientific hypothesis for specific landscapes.